A Libyan man suspected of starting a deadly fire at Schiphol airport deportation centre in 2005 has been awarded €48,000 in compensation for the time he was held on remand.

Ahmed Al-J was convicted of starting the fire in 2009, given a 1.5 year jail sentence and deported. In 2013, the appeal court in The Hague cleared him of the charge.

Al-J said at the time he would claim damages from the Dutch state for the 504 days he spent in jail.

On Tuesday, the court in The Hague granted him compensation, ruling that he should not have been held on remand when the evidence against him led to him being cleared of the charge.

The amount of the compensation was calculated at the rate then in use of €95 per day.

The fire at the Schiphol detention centre, which killed eleven people, is thought to have been started by a roll-up cigarette smoked by Al-J in his cell. He was seriously injured in the fire.